The dual-path association between upward social comparison and short video addiction: parallel mediating roles of negative emotions and psychological resilience

Background: Short video addiction among college students has attracted increasing attention. Although upward social comparison has been linked to short video addiction, it remains unclear how negative emotions and psychological resilience jointly explain this association, and whether relevant pathways differ by gender. Drawing on Compensatory Internet Use Theory and the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model, this study examined a dual-path framework linking upward social comparison to short video addiction through negative emotions and psychological resilience. Methods: Questionnaire data were collected from 714 college students in China and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The model tested the direct association between upward social comparison and short video addiction, the parallel mediating roles of negative emotions and psychological resilience, and gender differences in structural paths. Results: Upward social comparison was positively associated with short video addiction and negative emotions, and negatively associated with psychological resilience. Both negative emotions and psychological resilience significantly mediated the association between upward social comparison and short video addiction. The indirect association through negative emotions was slightly stronger than that through psychological resilience. Multi group analysis showed that the association between upward social comparison and negative emotions was stronger among female students. Conclusion: These findings suggest that upward social comparison, negative emotions, psychological resilience, and short video addiction can be understood within a parallel framework of risk related and protective processes. The results highlight the importance of addressing both emotional distress and resilience related resources in college students.